Sea World

In celebration of our anniversary, we took the family to Sea World in San Antonio this past weekend. It took us about 2 hours longer to get there than it should have because poor little Nathan had just started potty training and therefore needed us to stop frequently - we were lucky if we could drive 20 minutes before making another pitstop. I learned quickly how much McDonald's franchises can vary, in not only cleanliness, but also service. We actually had a McDonald's employee come to our table and ask us if we needed any refills on our drinks. Should have starred that one on our map! Anyway, we did eventually get to Sea World and it was packed! Not a big surprise since it was Spring Break. I guess I was hoping maybe it wouldn't be too crowded, though, since it was, afterall, the end of Spring Break. No such luck. We had a long trek through the massive parking lot to get into Sea World, but the kids were real troopers and didn't complain... at least, not on the way in. I can't say they didn't complain a little when having to make that same walk on the way back out!

The first day there we saw the dolphins and sharks and penguins and of course, Shamu. The kids seemed to enjoy the big whale show, though they were so tired by this point that both Alex and Nathan weren't too enthusiastic during the 45 minute wait for the show to start, or even for the show itself. Amy, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoyed the show (she was, afterall, the only one to take 2 naps on the car ride there). She watched the entire time and clapped, even when the audience didn't. She even did the wave thing with her hands that the divers had taught the audience to get Shamu to splash them. Amy only briefly took her eyes off the show to talk to the little girl next to us, who looked to be about her same age. I never dreamed she'd like it so much!

Throughout the day, Alex would frequently ask if it was time to go to the hotel yet. For whatever reason, Alex loves to stay in a hotel. I guess in his short life he's stayed in a number of hotels on various trips and he just has fond memories of playing in the hotel rooms. And on our first day at Sea World, that seemed to be what he was looking most forward to. But I do think he had fun. We saw the Pirate 4D movie before leaving and I think he enjoyed it, even though he was the only one to get wet!

The second day we saw the sea lion show and then the boys got to feed the sea lions. They really enjoyed that. We also saw the alligators, fed the fish, and revisited the dolphins. Most of the day, however, we spent playing in Shamu's Happy Harbor. Alex and Nathan especially enjoyed this. They had a blast climbing along all of the netting and through the tubes and especially on the pirate ship. And the rides, games and gigantic sand box were also hits with the kids. It was quite apparent that Shamu's Happy Harbor was the winning attraction at Sea World for the boys. I'd still have to say that if Amy could tell us, she'd say her favorite part was seeing Shamu.

Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart!

Today marks 8 wonderful years of being married to my sweet and loving husband. I've already given background on how we met in my Valentine's Day post, so I'll spare all of you from hearing it again. But I just wanted to take this time to say - Happy Anniversary, Bill! I LOVE YOU!!!!

Fighting the Crowds

When Alex started preschool at the age of three, one of the biggest changes I had to get used to was not having the time to do things like we could before. He has school every weekday afternoon, so a trip to visit his Granny and Paw-Paw, though only a 30 minute drive away, is pretty much out of the question. And errands have to be limited and quickly completed in the morning, still leaving enough time for an early lunch so Alex can be ready for school on time. So like many other families, I now look forward to school holidays, such as Spring Break. Suddenly, we can do things again without time restraints. So when my mom suggested we take the kids to Chuck E. Cheese one afternoon this week, I thought, what a great idea! And don't get me wrong. It was a great idea. But if there is one thing I cannot stand, it's crowds. I'll miss the greatest shopping sale at my favorite store just to avoid the inevitable crowds.

When we pulled into the parking lot at Chuck E. Cheese it was already apparent what a mad house this children's favorite was going to be. For a moment, we discussed going elsewhere. Maybe if we just went to McDonald's or Burger King, the big playsets they have there would be enough to satisfy the kids. No such luck. Alex had his heart set on Chuck E. Cheese. So we braved it... and boy, was it crowded! In addition to it being Spring Break, today has been extremely rainy. So I think everyone had the same idea as to how to spend this wet day with their children. Thankfully, my mom was able to find one small table in the back, just big enough for us to all squeeze in and eat our pizza. It was pretty chaotic, but I found that the kids didn't care one bit. I think crowds really only bother us adults. The kids are oblivious to it for the most part, with the exception of their impatience when having to wait in a line for a particular popular game. My mom and I endured the many people and noisy atmosphere, and I think in the end it was worth it.

This weekend we are planning to go to Sea World; I'm sure we'll face even bigger crowds there. And I'm sure that once again, it will be worth it when all is said and done.

Planting A Garden

A long time ago, Bill and I attempted to grow cherry tomatoes. Between the bugs and the birds, it was a disaster. We gave up gardening after that. The success of friends in past years, however, has had us itching to try again. Bill started out planting a satsuma orange tree last year, and it actually produced 3 wonderful oranges. So with the success of Bill's orange tree and the return of spring like weather, we made the decision to try our hand at gardening again. This past Saturday we spent our morning perusing Lowe's for all the right ingredients to make a garden, and then spent the entire afternoon building it. It was a long day, not to mention the warmest we'd had in awhile! But we were so happy with the outcome of our labor. We grilled out hamburgers for dinner and ate out on our deck, then went in to eat pudding and finish a movie we'd started Friday night. Bath and bedtime was quick to follow. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect family day!

Fruits and vegetables for our garden

Assortment of herbs for my herb garden

Marking the spot

Everyone working together...

to produce our lovely gardens!

So happy that Spring is arriving!!!

Our geranium resident who has returned to her nest from her fall/winter vacation

Flowers in bloom

Sadly, our beautiful days of clear blue skies have temporarily ended. Overnight storms brought gray skies and lots and lots of rain. Our lovely garden is now a pool of water. We're not sure what that means for our seeds, but I guess only time will tell. Hopefully the garden box will drain quickly and our newly planted garden will flourish. Either way, we're happy with our efforts and we'll only keep trying!

Once a Month Post

That's about all I've managed lately! I would really like to post at least 3 times a week, but it just seems that I can barely get one a month out. But in my defense, my family has been fighting one sickness after another since the beginning of February. For most of the month, everyone had the cold that wouldn't give up. Alex and Nathan's coughs had reached a point where they were waking several times a night, and Amy was also waking more frequently. I was so tired and was so glad when we finally started to see the symptoms going away... And then the stomach bug hit. Amy started it and 2 days later Nathan had it, followed by Alex in the next 2 days. So at one point, all three were sick with the stomach virus. It was horrible! But thankfully Bill and I never got it, other than a brief day where my stomach was a bit unsettled, but nothing more. And I blame that on just having to deal with everyone else's stomach troubles! And God graciously allowed everyone to be well just in time for Bill's business trip last week, so I was very thankful for that.

Now that we've all been well, we have been basking in the glorious weather outside. We spent all last Saturday working in the yard, cleaning up the flowerbeds. Normally, I consider this to be a big chore, and not very much fun. But I really enjoyed it. Maybe it was because we'd been stuck indoors for so long and I just loved the freedom of being outside, or perhaps it was just how easily the yard cleaned up this year. The weeds were the kind that are easier to pull, and the flowers and shrubs held up much better this winter than they have in the past. Plus, I had three little helpers this year. I enjoyed the yard "work", and especially the follow-up dinner at our favorite mexican restaurant and movie night at home (we rented Curious George, now a new favorite of Alex and Nathan). Since Saturday, we have spent a little time outside every day and it's been wonderful!

As usual, I don't have time to post any pictures, but I'm going to try and post some in the next few days. I just wanted to let everyone know that yes, we are still here and finally doing well. :)

My Little Hi-5 Fan

All of my children have taken to television differently. When Alex was really little, he wasn't that interested in it at all. After awhile, he would at least watch Veggie Tales, but that was pretty much it. Now of course he'll watch just about anything. Nathan did not like anything when he was really little. He'd look at the television briefly and then be on his way. It took him forever to really get into anything particular. By his second birthday he appeared to like Elmo okay, and by his third birthday he seemed to like Blues Clues quite a bit. Now he's really into Caillou. His interest in television was gradual. And I'm not complaining. I really don't think it's healthy for them to watch too much television, but I like for them to have an interest in something so that I can do the unthinkable - let the TV babysit for a moment while I get dinner ready, or nurse Amy, etc. And I try to keep the shows educational so that they are at least learning something while being entertained.

Along comes Amy. Amy loves television. The length of her sitting and viewing any particular show has always been short, and yet she's always shown an interest. In the last week, however, we have discovered a show she really likes - something she will sit and watch in it's entirity. We have a DVD called Ready, Set, Learn and we have no idea where we got it (my apologies if it was a gift!). I've recently learned that The Learning Channel and Discovery Kids airs a grouping of programs each morning which they call "Ready, Set, Learn". We don't have cable, so this is not something we would know about. One of the shows is called Hi-5 and Amy adores it. I caught her the other day sitting on Nathan's toolbox at the coffee table with her water cup, just mesmerized by the five talented people of Hi-5. She was so cute to watch. I just purchased one of their music CD's so she could listen to the music in the car or at home; when a familiar song comes on, she'll just smile and start bouncing to the music. Too cute for words!

Our Story

I've so enjoyed reading in others blogs about how they met their wonderful spouses, and I thought I'd join in the fun and share the story of how Bill and I met.

Bill and I both were aerospace engineering majors in college - Bill at University of Cincinnati and me at The University of Texas. Living almost 1200 miles apart, our meeting was no doubt part of God's plan. Both of our schools offered a Co-op program which allowed you to gain work experience in your field by helping you attain a job working for a semester. It just so happens that I had accepted a co-op position with Lockheed Martin in Houston, TX for the 1997 Spring semester, and Bill had done the same thing. And though we were working on the same floor of the Lockheed building, we worked in different groups and never really saw each other. The opportunity finally came on April 10, 1997, just two days before my birthday. The co-op program gave tours of various facilities at NASA Johnson Space Center to the co-ops, and on this particular day we had a scheduled tour of the moon rock facility. So when we first met, we were both wearing "bunny suits" and looking at moon rocks. We didn't really speak much to each other that day, though Bill did ask me afterwards if I knew where the cafeteria was and I said no and went on my way. It turns out he already knew where it was and just used it as an excuse to talk to me.

We ran into each other at work several times the weeks following and then one day Bill sent out an email to all of the co-ops, asking if anyone knew anything fun to do around town, seeing as how he wasn't familiar with the area. I responded to his email and just said I really didn't know (sadly pointing out that I had no life). Later he sent out another email to see if anyone wanted to go see a movie. I gave it some thought, then finally replied and said I would. And what I insisted to my mom was NOT a date, resulted in to my surprise, just Bill and I at a movie theater one Saturday afternoon. Apparently, I was the only co-op to reply; Bill later told me that once I said I'd go, he didn't bother mentioning it again to anyone else. Pretty sneaky. After the movie (Dantes Peak), Bill invited me over for dinner. He said he'd cook, so together we stopped off at the grocery store where he bought everything for a spaghetti dinner, which he cooked spectacularly. I enjoyed talking with him so much that night. Within a few days he had called me to meet him at a nearby park, where we walked and talked some more. We met up several times after that, but what I considered our first date didn't happen until May 9th. He invited me out to dinner at a nice seafood resaurant. He went all out and made the evening so special. After dinner, I found out that it was his birthday and he had used money sent to him for his birthday to pay for our special date. I was so flattered and felt even more special. That night was the start of our committed relationship to each other. We were together all of the time, and even when I left for school in the Summer, Bill continued to come visit me on weekends in Austin. His co-op tour didn't end until Fall semester, at which time he went back to Ohio and we really had to endure a long-distance relationship. But we talked on the phone daily and when I went to visit him in Ohio after Christmas, he propsed to me. We were married approximately 15 months later, March 20, 1999.

Thank you, Sweetheart, for loving me and giving me the life I'd always dreamed of. Happy Valentine's Day - I love you!

A picture taken at the moon rock facility. We're the two short people standing in the middle (Bill is just to the right of me).

Our engagement picture

Just arriving at our reception as newlyweds.

Indoor Camping

We had a wonderful, but busy weekend. Saturday morning we attended a very special birthday party - Happy Birthday, Nicole! What a fun time we all had, and what a beautiful, delicious cake! After the party and after a quick trip to the grocery store, my parents brought over my niece Kayleigh (6) and my nephew Caden (4) to spend the night. Alex and Nathan were so excited to have their cousins over, especially to stay the night. We were excited, too, and had a camping theme prepared for the kids. We ate hot dogs for dinner, which Bill grilled out. Then after dinner, the kids went out and made smores using the fire pit. Though it was very cold out, I think they all enjoyed it.

Later, Bill constructed a tent in our den using rope, sheets, and various furniture to secure the tent, as well as a bunch of coats and whatever else he could find to help maintain it's shape. It was an impressive sight and the kids had a great time sleeping under it on the makeshift pallet I made. Bill was gracious enough to stay downstairs with them all night, making the couch his place of rest. Amy and I were the lucky ones who got to sleep in our comfy bed upstairs.

The following morning we had cinnamon rolls and watched television until time to dress and head over to my parents' house. It was a success! We hope over the next couple of months we get some dry weather so our backyard will no longer be a swamp, as well as slightly warmer temperatures, at which time we will set up the real tent and have another sleepover campout, this time in the backyard!!!

Good Intentions

Last night I decided it was time for a change. Inspired by several friends who are already doing this, I asked Bill to wake me up in the morning at 6am, at which time I would come downstairs, get myself a cup of coffee (which would already be brewed and waiting having been prepared and set on timer the night before), and sit down to my Bible and prayer journal for some quality spiritual enrichment time. I was very excited about this idea and made it a point before going to bed last night to get the coffee ready, have my Bible and prayer journal out on the kitchen table and even forced myself to go to bed at 11pm so that I would get enough sleep...

Amy had other plans. In addition to many awakenings througout the night, shortly before 5am she decided she was ready to be up. We spent a long time in bed discussing the many objects in the room: Mommy's pillow, Daddy's pillow, painting, stereo, closet door, and on-and-on it went. Bill came out of the bathroom dressed for work at about 5:45, and we all went downstairs. So instead of my peaceful prayer time, I had some mother-daughter time, sitting on the couch with cereal and coffee (water for Amy), watching Mr. Rogers on television. I guess I can't complain. It was still quality time that I will cherish forever!

Housekeeping MeMe

Celeste tagged me to do this little MeMe and I must say, I'm a little scared to confess to my housekeeping details. But here goes!

APRON:
I have a couple that remain in a cabinet in my kitchen until Christmas time. I usually wear them when I decorate Christmas cookies. No idea why I only wear one then, but that just seems to be the one time when I think to put one on!

BAKING:
I like to bake but I don't do it very often because if I bake it, I tend to eat it!

CLOTHESLINE – Y/N?:
Not a formal one, unless you can consider the doorways my "clotheslines". I was taught to hang most everything and therefore when I do laundry, my doorways are blocked completely by drying clothes.

DONUTS – Have you ever made them?:
Never. I also haven't had one since I was in high school.

EVERY DAY – One homemaking thing you do every day:
Cook meals (or sides to go with leftovers) and clean up the kitchen... though the dinner time clean up has been known to be put off until the following day, depending on how busy our evening is.

FREEZER – Do you have a separate deep freeze?:
Yes. We had a medium sized one we bought used before having Amy and it came in handy for freezing meals for after she was born. Now we have a large freezer we got from my parents that I am still determined to fill. I like Celeste's idea of filling it with ice cream! :)

GARBAGE DISPOSAL – Y/N?:
Absolutely! Nothing helps make clean-up after meals go faster than a garbage disposal!

HANDBOOK – What is your favorite homemaking resource?:
Bill bought me a book by Williams-Sonoma called "Kitchen Companion: The A to Z Guide to Everyday Cooking Equipment and Ingredients" which has come in handy so many times. I also make use of the internet and my mom for advice.

IRONING – Love it or hate it?:
I hate it. Bill irons his own clothes everyday. He has no problem doing it because he was doing it long before I came into his life. So if I need something ironed, I either let him do it when he's doing his ironing, or I wear it wrinkled. I don't iron.

JUNK DRAWER – Y/N? Where is it?:
Yes, all of them. :) No, I'm not that bad. But I do have several in my kitchen that I just can't seem to get organized.

KITCHEN: Design & Decorating?:
I am inspired everytime I eat at a Cracker Barrel. I just love all of the old antique kitchen gadgets, signs, and just about anything else old you can think of that adorn the walls and ceilings of the restaurants. I currently have a bunch of old various cans arranged on top of my cabinets, though I've purchased old skillets and other antique items I'd someday like to display in my kitchen.

LOVE: What is your favorite part of homemaking?:
I just like knowing that I am responsible for holding things together here at home. For the most part, when the house is organized and clean and has that comfy feel, I made that happen. Of course, it also goes the other way. When the house is messy and dirty, that means I didn't do my job, which is more often than I care to admit!

MOP - Y/N?:
I used to do it about twice a week; now I do it when I can. Let's just say it doesn't happen nearly as often as it should!

NYLONS - Wash by hand or in the washing machine?:
I rarely wear them, but when I wash them I wash them in the washing machine.

OVEN - Do you use the window, or open the door to check?:
It depends on what I'm cooking.

PIZZA - What do you put on yours?:
I actually prefer plain cheese pizza.

QUIET - What do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment?:
What's that?

RECIPE CARD BOX - Y/N?:
I have a binder I've started with plastic sleeves, but I have yet to convert all of my recipes into it. So I still use my recipe card box some of the time.

HOUSE STYLE:
Traditional and very open. I like it, but it's a little more open than I'd like it to be with a kitchen that's way too small.

TABLECLOTHS AND NAPKINS - Y/N?:
The kids use plastic placemats and Bill and I use woven cloth ones. We use papertowels for napkins, though I keep wanting to go to cloth ones.

UNDER THE KITCHEN SINK - Organized or toxic wasteland?:
It's pretty sad looking. I store a lot of my cleaning stuff down there (we have child locks), but it's all crammed in there and needs to be organized better.

VACUUM - How many times per week?:
Almost daily. I can get away with every other day if I don't mind it looking a little messy on the off days. We have green carpet and it shows every speck of dirt or lint or string or whatever. It's pretty carpet, but terribly high-maintenance.

WASH - How many loads of laundry do you do a week?:
I can't even count, it seems like so many. And yet I can never catch up!

X's - Do you keep a daily list of things to do and cross them off?:
That's about the only way I can get things done. I'm a list fanatic. If we go on a trip, I have about 5 lists going, covering every aspect of our packing and preparation.

YARD - Who does what?:
Bill mows and trims everything. I just plant the flowers.

ZZZZ's - What is your last homemaking task for the day before going to bed?:
I guess I try to straighten up a bit, though it's certainly far from perfect when I go to bed at night. Amy still wakes several times a night and eventually ends up in our bed by the time we go to bed; so I guess my biggest homemaking task before going to bed is typically to fetch an unhappy Amy and bring her to bed with me each night.

All I Want for Christmas...

Yes, I said "Christmas". I've been meaning to post this for awhile now. It's amazing how quickly time gets away from me!

Not too long after Christmas, Amy finally grew in her two front teeth. She is so cute with these huge (for her little mouth), slightly crooked front teeth. She's been fussing a lot lately and I believe she may have another one coming in right along side the top two. I can't tell if anything is coming in (or has already come in) the bottom or not. When she smiles, you can't see the lower gums and she won't let you use your fingers to check. So I guess someday we'll luck out and catch a view of those lower gums and may be surprised to see a whole row of lovely white teeth.

Amy changes so much, almost on a daily basis it seems. She can say just about anything, and not always as an echo of what she's just heard. Her vocabulary is amazing. Right off the top of my head, she can say the following: Mommy, Daddy, Alex, Nathan, Paw-Paw, Granny, baby, puppy, kitty, water, bye-bye, hi, hello, yes (more like yeah), no, mine, night-night, jacket, ball, eat, teeth, hold me, help me, thank you, more, nurse, there-it-is, here-you-go, and Caillou. That covers the majority of her regularly used words. I'm sure there are other words I've heard her say, but I can't think of any right now. We are in constant amazement at all of the words coming out of her mouth. She learns a lot from her brothers. I especially notice similarities between her and Nathan. She mimics Nathan quite a bit, perhaps because her personality is a lot like his. They both seem to feel the need to constantly entertain, whether by acting silly or teasing/aggravating others to get a response. With Nathan and Amy, you never know what's going to happen next!

Oh, and as you can see in the pictures, Amy's hair has reached a length that I can now pull it up. She looks so cute with her little pigtails!

Daddy Time

I don't think I expressed in my Christmas/New Year Update post how much the kids enjoyed having their daddy home. The first couple of days, they would say to him, "Daddy, you don't have to go to work anymore?" They wanted him to play with them constantly, and wonderful daddy that he is, he would often comply.

Bill got a daily workout playing games with the kids. Climbing all over and riding on Daddy is one of Alex and Nathan's favorite games.

What fun Amy had sliding down the slide with Daddy at the park!

Bill even took the boys camping in our backyard. They'd tried it once before but had to bail out when a thunderstorm rolled through. But this time they made it all night and now the boys can't wait until their next campout adventure!

I miss Bill now that he's gone back to work, but I think his return to work was hardest on the kids. They are back to greeting him with excited squeals and hugs when he walks in at the end of the day. Even Amy comes practically running up to him, saying repeatedly, "Daddy!" I think Bill missed that during his time at home. Now he can look forward to coming home each day to an enthusiastic welcoming by his wife and kids!

Christmas/New Year Update

Whew! The holidays flew by once again and here we are in 2007. I don't think I ever got used to writing "2006"! It was a busy and productive break. Bill finished working the flight on December 19th and didn't go back to work until yesterday, January 2nd. That was so nice! Alex's holiday from school also began on the 20th, so we were able to begin our family time all on the same day. Late one evening Bill and I put the kids in their pajamas, prepared coffee in our Starbuck's insulated mugs, and then all piled into the van to go look at lights. We looked and looked until all children were asleep and then drove home to transfer them into their beds. Despite the thunderstorm that had begun around us, it was a very pleasant outing.

We spent the days leading up to Christmas finalizing shopping, baking cookies and wrapping presents. Then Christmas Eve after church we spent the day at my parents house and had an early Christmas with my brother and sister-in-law. It was wonderful as always. The traditional luminarias and light-looking did not pan out this year due to rain. In my parents' neighborhood, white bags and small candles are sold and are supposed to be set out along the sidewalks on Christmas Eve night and lit at a specified time (these are the luminarias). When enough people participate, it is quite the site. We have made a tradition out of climbing into the back of my dad's pickup truck and driving around the neighborhood to look at all the lit up luminarias and Christmas decorations. This year was the first time I ever remember not being able to do this exciting activity. Sadly, Bill and my dad had just finished setting them out when it started raining, destroying all of the bags such that they could not be lit on Christmas night, the appointed rain date. But even without this fun tradition, we still had an enjoyable Christmas Eve. Having not gone on our "Bubba Truck Ride" as my cousin once called it, we were able to get the kids home at a more reasonable hour, which meant our getting to bed at a more reasonable hour - if you can call 2 am reasonable. Christmas morning we thought the kids would never wake up. My parents came over at 6:30 in the morning so that they could be there when the kids came down the stairs to their Santa gifts, but it was probably 7:30 before the kids woke up. At least we had some quiet time to enjoy our coffee. :) When they did come down they were so excited to see what Santa had brought them. Among other things, Nathan got the main item on his wish list - a new vacuum cleaner. And Alex got lots of new superheroes to play with. Bill and I let them play with their new toys for a little while before doing our gift exchange with each other. My favorite gift - the amazing cell phone holder my dear husband made for me so that my cell phone would not just have to lie on the kitchen counter. He's quite the craftsman! We gave the kids the morning to play with all their new treasures at home and then went back to my parents' house for a delicious lunch and Christmas with my sister and brother-in-law.

The boys decorating their Christmas sugar cookies

Christmas Eve at Granny and Paw-Paw's

Christmas morning

My very special cell phone holder (and really neat cell phone cross charm given to me by my sister)

We tried to use the rest of Bill's time off to accomplish a few jobs around the house. The biggest of these was painting Amy's room. It's a lovely shade of purple that compliments her new bedding perfectly. I'll post pictures soon!

New Year's Eve and Day were spent at my parents' indulging in way too much delicious food, as we did throughout the holidays. Now that the holidays are over, we are working to get back onto a healthy diet and exercise program. The diet part is going better, but the exercise... Well, maybe we'll get that going someday, as it is one of my New Year's Resolutions. :) I have lots of New Year's Resolutions I'd love to share, but I'll save them for another post.